Cleric jailed in Jordan ‘failed by Australia’, says lawyer

The lawyer of the spiritual head of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Australia has lashed out at the Australian government.

Ismail Al-Wahwah.

The lawyer of the spiritual head of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Australia has lashed out at the Australian government for failing to intervene after a Jordanian court sentenced the controversial cleric to a year in a maximum-security prison for anti-regime and Islamist activity.

Ismail Al-Wahwah was found guilty of “inciting against the ­regime”, “insulting the position of the king and Arab leaders” and “being a member of an illegal ­organisation” when he faced the Jordanian State Security Court on January 15.

Each charge carried a sentence of one year in jail but they will be served concurrently.

The 61-year-old former taxi driver from western Sydney has been detained in Jordan since July 25 last year, when he was arrested by intelligence services on arrival in Amman, having flown to the capital to visit family.

His lawyer, Musa Al-Abdallat, told The Weekend Australian that his client did not receive a fair trial, as the charges stemmed from Facebook posts and political ­involvement with Hizb ut-Tahrir — an illegal organisation in Jordan — while he was in Australia.

It is understood the senior cleric’s Facebook account has since been deactivated.

“The Australian government did not treat him as a citizen who enjoys all the rights and privileges,” he said.

Mr Abdallat said he confronted Australian consular staff in the courtroom during the sentencing to express disappointment at their lack of intervention.

“They did not treat him as an Australian native, they treated him as an Australian Muslim.”

However, a spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was continuing to provide “consular assistance to an Australian citizen imprisoned in Jordan and to his family”.

He is expected to be released on July 25, a year from when he was detained.

“Jordan’s track record in human rights abuse is well known and prison conditions are terrible,” Mr Wahwah’s son, Anas, said.

“He is being detained … for merely expressing his political views.”

Protests in Australia and overseas have called for his release.